Looking for a new show to binge after finishing Dexter, we decided to give The Pitt a shot. I’d heard good things, it won a bunch of Emmys, and I was a big ER fan back in the day. It even stars Noah Wyle, for crying out loud. Seemed like a no-brainer.
We finished the 15th and final episode last night, and sure enough, we loved it. The Pitt is fast-paced, dramatic, packs an emotional wallop, and is chock full of likable characters (and a few you despise, but you always need evil to balance out the good–that’s Television Drama 101). Honestly though, more than once I said out loud, “Why am I watching this?!” because The Pitt also features blood. A lot of it.
I have an uncomfortable relationship with blood, i.e., I nearly faint at the sight of it. You might recall my late-night freakout when I found my wife covered in blood and had to rush her to the real-life ER last year. I’m very squeamish around the stuff, which is probably why I never went to medical school.
Proud to say I can eat a blood orange without losing my shit though.
So, watching a show where blood is practically a recurring character might seem like a bad idea. And yes, there were a few scenes where I literally blocked the TV with my hand while imploring Tara to “let me know when this part is over.” Good hell, that’s embarrassing to admit, but it is what it is.
Weirdly, Dexter has a lot of blood–the dude is literally a blood spatter expert slash serial killer–but for some reason that blood doesn’t faze me, which makes me a living, breathing oxymoron. Or maybe I just figure, the gore in Dexter is so over-the-top it doesn’t even seem real to me, whereas the scenes in The Pitt are no doubt a snapshot of what a real-life emergency room looks like on any given day. My odds of ending up naked and wrapped in plastic on a steel table are pretty slim (unless I have a real wild time in Vegas), but I could conceivably fall down the stairs and land on my face pretty much anytime. Knock on wood.
In any case, I highly recommend the show!
Cats-ing up with Laverne and Shirley
I got the following comment on a recent post:
By the way, I haven’t read much about Shirley and Laverne lately. Just sayin’. 😉
“Just sayin’” my ass. You were full-on hinting! Hell, that’s practically a threat if I squint between the lines. But that’s okay; I’m always down for blog suggestions. And it’s true: I haven’t mentioned my cats much lately. Rest assured that they are happy and content and living their best lives, which is a fancy way of saying, they are unapologetically in my face at all times. Literally, like when I’m trying to work.
But if you can resist those faces, you’re a stronger person than me.
Laverne and Shirley are easily the cuddliest cats I’ve ever owned. They never turn down an opportunity to curl up on our laps; seriously, we can’t ever just sit down on the couch or recliner and not expect them to hop up on us. And if space is limited, they don’t care; they’ll just pile on top of each other to be closer to us. But at least this keeps our heating bills low.
A few months ago, we bought them an automatic feeder for their dry food. It’s a great way to control their portions and make sure they get fed at the same time every day (5 a.m. and 8 p.m.), even when we’re out of town. Also stops them from crying outside our bedroom door before the sun comes up, so: win/win.
The best thing about this feeder? You can record a digital message to play when it’s time to eat. So, twice a day, we’ll hear my voice calling out, “Laverne! Shirley! Are you hungry? Do you want food?” followed by kibble dropping into each bowl. This sends them in a mad dash for the feeder (if they’re not already sitting right in front of it, because their internal clocks are eerily accurate) where they totally go to town.
The Impotence of Editing
Today’s my Friday, and I couldn’t be happier! The past month has been pretty busy at CheeseGov as we worked on our biennial report, which was due to the Governor’s office yesterday. We submitted it with about an hour to spare. My job primarily involved editing, as the comms team had to consolidate information from eight different divisions into one cohesive 48-page report.
With so many people contributing information from completely different work units, maintaining consistency and “voice” were a challenge. One division might’ve (rightfully) used Oxford commas while another didn’t. Some spelled out Fiscal Year, others used FY. There were percents and % and, further complicating matters, zero, one, or two numerals after the decimal point. Don’t even get me started on periods in bulleted lists! Did my eyes gloss over by the time I was reading through the ninth revision? You betcha. I can probably recite every division’s accomplishments over the past two years and their goals for the next two in my sleep. But I got ‘er done. And you can bet your ass CheeseGov’s biennial report has Oxford commas.
I will always, first and foremost, consider myself a writer…but I’m also a really good editor. Some of my most lucrative freelance assignments have involved editing (two novels, a nonfiction book, product brochures, an entire website, and too many resumes to count). When I left Ye Olde Publishing Company in Rapid City for a new opportunity, I will never forget my boss’s parting words.
“I’m going to miss your writing,” he said, “But I’m really going to miss your editing.”
That made me happy to hear. Editing may not be as sexy as writing, but as a skill, it’s every bit as valuable. Even the best, writter in the world is going to lo0k like a fool if their are editing erors!
Mark My Words 
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